The hole was just large enough to poke
his head through. The bright sunshine hurt Joe’s eyes, but
everything outside seemed very peaceful. The skies had cleared
completely and there wasn’t even a wisp of wind. Joe turned his
head slightly. Relief surged through him when he saw what could
only be Tasman Point about three miles away. Aided by
currents,
Faraway
must have
been drifting towards the island since she was
dismasted.
After a few moments Joe noticed what
looked like white water breaking over a small reef halfway between
the boat and the shore. When he realized the whiteness on the water
was actually the sails of a small boat which was heading directly
for
Faraway
, his relief turned
to sheer joy. For the first time since he had been a small boy, Joe
closed his eyes and unashamedly gave thanks to God.
His kneeling position soon became almost
unbearable and Joe was afraid he would pass out again. But he tried
desperately to ignore the pain, determined to make his presence
known to his rescuers as soon as they came within earshot. Then,
when the boat was very close, Joe’s knees gave way beneath him and
he fell heavily on his broken arm. Beside himself with pain, he lay
doubled up on his side until mercifully he lost consciousness
again.
*
‘This boat’s a goner, mate. Her planking’s
been split and she takin’ on water. And she was shot up bad before
she was dismasted by the looks of it. Apart from the petrol I’ve
siphoned from her tank and the Walther I found in the cabin,
there’s nothin’ here worth takin. It’s almost like someone already
took everything worth havin’.'
The man’s words were loud and clear, shouted
out at the top of his voice. Joe had regained consciousness just
moments before. He listened in stunned disbelief. Above him through
the gap in the canvas he could see two big calloused feet standing
on the staved-in wheelhouse roof.
‘Then put what you’ve got in the dinghy and
get back over here quick,’ a distant voice called out over the
water. ‘Let’s get outta here before our boat gets tangled up with
that bloody wreck.’
‘What about the poor bastard in the
wheelhouse?’
‘I thought you said he was as good as
dead.’
‘He is.’
‘Then leave ‘im. There’s nothing we can do.
We can’t be luggin’ a dead man all over the Gulf. Come on, Henry.
Get in the dinghy ’
Joe saw the feet disappear from above him.
Somehow he struggled back onto his knees and stuck his head out of
the hole in the canvas. ‘Hey, you... Come back … please...’
Joe didn’t get to finish his plea. The
two huge calloused feet returned and one of them smashed down on
his head like an enormous mallet. It was several minutes before he
could get to his knees again in a final desperate bid for survival.
But it was too late. By then the man had returned to his yacht. It
was an old sloop. As it sailed away Joe saw two long-haired men
sitting in the cockpit with their backs turned to him. Beneath them
on the transom he just made out the words:
Groote Eylandt Lady.
For national security reasons, General
Douglas MacArthur’s arrival in the Top End of Australia had been
veiled in secrecy. But when the American general left South
Australia aboard the Adelaide Express for Melbourne, John Curtin
was quick to bolster his own political support and the flagging
morale of the Australian public by announcing the Supreme
Commander’s impending arrival at Spencer Street Station. When the
train pulled in, thousands of people turned out in glorious
sunshine to greet him.
MacArthur stepped down from the train, calm,
confident and immaculate in a smart cotton uniform and sunglasses,
looking every inch the conquering hero. He was officially met by
the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for War, Frank Forde, and a
contingent of senior Australian and US military officers. When
assailed by newspaper reporters, MacArthur smiled and said, ‘I am
glad indeed to be in immediate cooperation with the Australian
soldier. I knew him well from the Great War and I admire him
greatly. I have every confidence in the ultimate success of our
joint cause. But success in warfare requires more than courage. It
requires careful preparation, and the provision of all necessary
men and materials with which to fight the enemy. No general can
make something of nothing. My success or failure will depend on the
resources put at my disposal. But I shall do my best.’
Outside the station the crowds waved and
cheered as MacArthur inspected a two hundred and fifty man guard of
honor, then limousines whisked Forde, MacArthur and the military
entourage off to the Menzies Hotel.
‘My Chief of Staff and senior officers have
briefed me on the situation here in Australia, Deputy Prime
Minister,’ MacArthur said later in informal discussions with Forde.
‘In the very near future, naval vessels and airplanes, fighting men
and weapons of war will be arriving in Australian waters and soon
we’ll be pushing the Japanese back, island by island, from your
country’s doorstep. Just how soon we get our hands on the necessary
will depend on how loudly we make ourselves heard in Washington. It
will be vital in the days, weeks and months ahead that your
government and my command work in complete unison.’
The words were music to Forde’s ears. ‘You
can expect every cooperation from the Australian government, sir,’
he said quickly. ‘As soon as you get settled into your headquarters
here in Melbourne, I’d like to make arrangements for you to travel
to Canberra to meet the Prime Minister and address the war
cabinet.’
‘I’ll be ready whenever you are,’
MacArthur said.
‘
We have no time to waste.’
‘Excellent, General. I’ll get things
organized.’
*
After his discussion with MacArthur, Forde
was driven to the offices of the Australian chiefs of staff. As
soon as he arrived, one of his personal assistants, Professor Bill
Stanner, took his arm and escorted him to a third floor meeting
room. Inside the room, the Australian chiefs of staff were gathered
around a conference table.
‘My apologies for being late, gentlemen,’
Forde said as he took his seat at the head of the table. He nodded
to an officer at the other end. ‘Shall we begin, Lieutenant-Colonel
Wake?’
The officer rose to his feet. ‘As you
gentlemen are all aware, as Deputy Director of Military
Intelligence, I was asked to lead a delegation to the Northern
Territory recently to look into national security matters there.’
Wake paused and looked somberly at the faces of the men around the
table. ‘Gentlemen,’ he continued. ‘I’m afraid what we found in the
Top End is to say the least, alarming. We gathered a great deal of
evidence which points to large scale pre-war espionage operations
by the Japanese. It became obvious to us that the enemy has
penetrated deep into the hearts and minds of the Aborigines,
promising to drive the white race out of their country and restore
to them their rightful ownership of the land. I have no need to
tell anyone in this room of the enormous benefits an alliance with
Aborigines would bring to an invading enemy, especially with regard
to local knowledge, scouting and tracking, to say nothing of the
possibility of arming the blacks to fight against us.’
‘Something like that couldn’t be done
overnight,’ one officer interjected. ‘How long has this kind of
thing been going on?’
‘For a long time it seems,’ Wake replied. ‘We
believe the enemy has recently dropped agents by parachute in
Arnhem Land and elsewhere in the north to make contact with
militant Aborigines who have been under the influence of Japanese
infiltrators for months, perhaps even years. From our inquiries we
are convinced that Japanese commercial fishing vessels visiting our
northern shores in the past, were manned by Japanese naval
personnel and spies who, over a period of time, have won over many
of the native people. At the same time they have probably produced
better charts of our northern waters and rivers than we have
ourselves.’
There was a murmur of surprise from around
the table and raised eyebrows from the Naval Chief of Staff.
‘British Admiralty charts are generally
accepted as the best in the world,’ Wake continued, ‘but many of
the charts we use today were prepared by Matthew Flinders, nearly a
hundred and fifty years ago. Many areas have never been charted at
all. In the event of an invasion, we must assume the Japanese would
expect to move large concentrations of troops overland and on the
northern river systems aided by Aborigines.’ Wake paused again
allowing time for his message to sink in. ‘But we have acted
quickly to minimize Aboriginal coercion with the enemy. Just
recently, all unsupervised Aborigines along the northern coastal
regions are being rounded up and placed in control camps where we
can keep an eye on them. But there are other security problems that
must be addressed.’
‘Well,’ Forde said impatiently. ‘What are
they?’
‘It became clear during our inquiries,’ Wake
said solemnly, ‘that Darwin has become a hotbed of Japanese
espionage. We believe there is an active fifth column operating
throughout the north and all information gathered by enemy spies
and infiltrators is collated in Darwin and then transmitted to the
enemy. The timing of the Darwin and Broome raids certainly supports
our belief. The Darwin raid took place only hours after a convoy
arrived in port from the Netherlands East Indies, and the attack at
Broome came when the greater part of what remained of the Dutch Air
Force was sitting like ducks on the water in Roebuck Bay.’
‘How do you think the fifth columnists
communicate with the Japs?’ Forde asked.
‘We have no doubt there are radio
transmitters based in Darwin and elsewhere on the mainland,
possibly some at German-run missions on outlying islands, and
possibly some aboard small private coastal vessels. These
transmitters could be manned by traitors working as paid spies, or
foreign nationals of non-British stock who, for one reason or
another, have escaped internment.’
Forde rubbed his jaw. ‘And what do you
propose we do to counter these problems, Colonel?’
‘As everyone in this room knows, it’s
impossible for us to defend our entire northern coastline, but what
we can do is take steps to minimize the enemy’s element of surprise
when he invades us. I have worked closely with Professor Stanner on
this matter and he has already worked out a plan of action. Stanner
has discussed it in detail with General Herring, commanding officer
in the Northern Territory and he has asked for its immediate
implementation.’ Wake nodded at Stanner. ‘Would you please explain
your proposal Professor?’
Bill Stanner rose to his feet. He was an
intense, aloof-looking man in his mid-thirties.
‘Some years ago,’ Stanner said stiffly,
‘while working at the London School of Economics, I went on an
expedition to Kenya. It was there I learned of a small German
commando force of fourteen thousand men in East Africa which had
successfully contained a hundred and sixty thousand British
soldiers in that region during the Great War. I believe we should
organize a similar force. It would be nowhere near as large but I
envision it working on similar principles. What I proposed to
General Herring was the formation of a top secret observer force
operating across the Top End, from the Gulf country in Queensland
to Broome in Western Australia. It’s an enormous area, almost four
million square miles with almost six thousand miles of coastline.
But I think a small force of about five hundred men, operating in
small radio-equipped scouting groups, could serve an early warning
invasion alert unit and also be able to harass the enemy after he’s
landed. I propose these men would patrol on horseback throughout
the remote regions, practically living off the land. They would be
essentially a brigade of bushmen, similar in many ways to the
Australian Light Horse.
‘You mean as a sort of commando force?’ one
of the chiefs asked.
‘Yes.’
‘They would of course be behind enemy lines
after a Japanese invasion?’
‘Yes.’
‘So, as far as you are concerned Stanner,
they would be expendable?’
‘Yes.’
‘All very easy for you to say from the safety
of Melbourne, over two thousand miles away from action,’ the chief
persisted.
‘That’s exactly what General Herring said in
Darwin,’ Stanner said quietly. ‘I believe that is why he demanded
that I personally raise the force and become it’s commanding
officer, even though my background is more academic than
military.’
‘And did you accept?’
‘Yes, I did. Now all that remains for this
special unit to become a reality, is for you gentlemen to approve
its creation, and for the necessary funding to be secured from
Canberra.’
Stanner’s proposal was quickly approved as
were several other defense measures on the agenda of the meeting.
When all matters had been dealt with, Forde said, ‘Gentlemen, I had
the honor of meeting and speaking with General MacArthur earlier
today. I have to tell you, I was most impressed. I believe his
presence among us at this critical time will prove to be our
deliverance. I am convinced he is the man to galvanize and inspire
our joint military forces to drive the Japanese from our shores. I
hope you will welcome him, not just as a comrade in arms, but also
as a friend, just as the Australian people have opened up their
hearts and homes and welcomed the thousands of American servicemen
who are already among us.’
*
Joe was jolted back into the real world
when a sudden stab of pain in his left arm ended a short period of
blissful unconsciousness. It had been five days since the terrible
encounter with the
Groote Eylandt
Lady,
and one look at the ever-rising water in the
cabin told him that even if he could survive another day,
Faraway
certainly could
not.